How to Complete the Honors Section of the Common App
Depending on your circumstances, the five allotted entries in the Honors section of the Common Application can look like anything from a frighteningly vast and boundless ocean to a maddeningly constrictive kiddie pool. “Normal” high schoolers, those without any prestigious national awards to their names,…
Mastering the “Why this College?” Essay
After pouring their heart and soul into the Common App essay, students often run out of gas by the time they encounter any remaining supplemental essays. While supplemental essays may ask you anything from “What is something you can talk about endlessly?” (Tufts) to your…
What College Major is Best?
Want to spend a couple of unproductive hours on the internet? Start Googling for advice on what college major you should select. You’ll find countless articles with strong points of view—some selling the pragmatism of the hard sciences, engineering, or business—others telling you to pursue…
How do I help my homeschool student get into college?
Let us begin by saying that if your son or daughter is among the 2.3 million children presently being homeschooled in the United States, they already enjoy a statistical advantage in many important facets of life. Studies have linked homeschooling to greater community involvement in…
The Worst College Essay Topics
We would never unequivocally tell an applicant that any proposed college essay topic is off limits. Great writers can take the most mundane, banal, and generic topic and transform it into a captivating composition. However, in our experience reading thousands of college essays, we are…
Should I Apply Early Decision?
In the early 1990s, the University of Pennsylvania was struggling to keep up with their fellow Ivy League universities and found themselves frequently relegated to “back-up plan” status among the nation’s top students. Their institution’s location in less-than-idyllic West Philadelphia and the “sounds like a…
What is a Financial Safety School?
The act of drawing up college contingency plans is entirely antithetical to the passion-filled optimism pulsating through the average teenage brain. Counting on your son or daughter to put careful thought into their post-secondary backup plan is like expecting Romeo & Juliet to respond to…
What is an SAT/ACT Superscore?
It is human nature to selectively showcase only our best moments while simultaneously sweeping those that are less flattering out of sight. When serious high school athletes put together highlight reels for recruitment videos, they cherry-pick touchdowns, dunks, or homeruns; not fumbles, air balls, and…
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Downloadable Resources for your College Transition
